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New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com 
'He's a liar, he is a cold-blooded murderer.'
BY JOHN MARZULLI
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, February 23rd, 2006

Remorseless to the end, convicted cop killer Marlon Legere was sentenced yesterday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally shooting two Brooklyn detectives in cold blood.
But his banishment behind bars did not begin until Legere perpetrated a final outrage - insisting again that he shot Detectives Robert Parker and Patrick Rafferty in self-defense.

That claim was a bitter pill for Rafferty's elderly mother, Joan, who stood in a courtroom filled with cops to see her son's killer packed off to prison.

"He's a liar," she told reporters later. "He is a cold-blooded murderer."

Joan Rafferty said she was satisfied with the sentence, but nothing would bring closure.

"I'm glad it is over," she said. "I hope I never see that man again. He is a liar.

Before sentencing the ex-con in Brooklyn Supreme Court, Justice Anne Feldman heard heart-breaking statements from family members and friends of the slain detectives, who were gunned down Sept. 10, 2004.

Parker, 43, and Rafferty, 39, both veteran members of the 67th Precinct detective squad, had rushed to the Legere home after a frantic call from his mother, who said her son was threatening her.

They found Legere, 30, sitting in her car and they were killed when Legere grabbed Parker's service gun and opened fire.

Rafferty's wife, Eileen, and the couple's three children - Kara, 13, Kevin, 11, and Emma, 6 - were not in court, but the widow penned a letter that was read.

"On what should have been my husband Patrick's 41st birthday ... instead of celebrating Patrick's life, I am mourning his death," she wrote.

Parker did not have children, but was a father figure to many kids in the East Flatbush community where he spent his NYPD career.

"Mr. Legere, had you only allowed him to help you, you would have met a great man who would have done all he could to help you as he had promised your mother," said Parker's childhood friend, Dawn Stewart-Riles.

When Legere finally rose to make his statement, he read from a yellow legal pad.

"First and foremost, I want to send my deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the slain officers," he said. "I wanted to testify to show my innocence, but my defense team told me it was not a wise move, that it would harm me."

The courtroom was dead silent as Legere continued. "I truthfully felt and still feel today if I had taken the stand, things would have turned out better for myself and the families of the slain officers. Why? They would get a chance to hear the story from beginning to end."

Legere then repeated the self-defense claim, saying he did not know that Parker and Rafferty, both in plainclothes, were cops.

"I had no intention of killing anyone, I was only protecting myself from people I never seen in my entire life," he said.

Feldman blasted the defendant for his lack of remorse, adding that she believed Legere shot the cops because he did not want to go back to prison.

"You will never be free again," Feldman said.